The Conscious Body emerges as a research project in the fields of embodiment and actor's training that addresses how to achieve an intense and creative performance by means of empowering one's stage presence. It has been developed by Ivan Andrade since 2011 through workshops, seminars and classes offered in Barcelona, the UK, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
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The Conscious Body is a structured methodology that aims at teaching actors, dancers, and singers how to engage a deeply embodied performance. It provides powerful insight into how to deliver an intense, truthful, meaningful, and creative performance through achieving a high level of attention and presence onstage.
The Conscious Body addresses some essential functions of the somatic body such as
respiration,
relaxation,
connection,
attention,
silence,
presence
in order to achieve a state of embodiment in which the mind is hardly in control of the situation. Thus, the performer’s actions and movements emerge as a spontaneous response to the external stimuli and the body’s expressive needs.
The Conscious Body Program aims at providing practical experience about the phenomena of flow and creativity as states that we can engage as performers only if we agree to not know what is going to happen. In order to achieve that, it is essential that the performer develops great self-confidence, acknowledging the natural flow of fear that arouses in the body, allowing it, and turning it into their source of energy and drive.
The Conscious Body Program is aimed at performers who want to transcend the aesthetics of a specific technique and devote themselves to finding paths into a work that is new, uncanny, and creative each time.
The Conscious Body Program includes but is not limited to the exploration of the somatic body through respiration, contraction and relaxation, the development of one’s body perception, dealing with emotions such as fear, anger, pain, or shame in our relationship with reality, with the purpose of finding a silent and healthy body that is flexible, present, alive, full of energy, and ready to work to the fullest of its potential.
The Conscious Body has been developed thanks to the interest and support of universities, theatre companies, and centers for artistic research in Spain, the UK, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
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Check our Agenda to see where and when new activities of The Conscious Body are taking place.
TESTIMONIALS
Aquest treball ha canviat completament la manera com visc la música avui dia. He après a ser dalt de l'escenari, a experimentar la por que això em suposa de manera conscient i, el més important, com permetre-la perquè aquesta por no em controli. He esdevingut més conscient d'àrees del meu cos on sostinc tensió i com deixar-la anar. M'ha sorprès enormement com, deixant anar tot aquest esforç innecessari, moltes de les meves dificultats tècniques també desapareixien.
William Maese
Jazz Singer, Barcelona
Aquest entrenament m'ha permès aconseguir un sorprenent nivell de llibertat, intensitat i lleugeresa en les meves actuacions. He aconseguit superar reptes vocals i expressius que mai no hagués imaginat. Recomano aquest entrenament a qualsevol estudiant o professional de l'art dramàtic o la música. Li permetrà trobar noves maneres d'interpretar des d'un cos i una ment flexibles, així com accedir a un treball profundament sincer.
Mariona Castillo
Actress, singer and teacher, Barcelona
I began with some sessions of this training with significant skepticism. I had heard that this was helpful to release patterns of tension in the body, achieving good results with singers and actors. After a month of work, I felt an incredible improvement. I learned to be more conscious and present on stage not following determined patterns or routines that made me feel safe, but allowing every performance to be new and alive, and achieving a new, free, and powerful connection with the audience. I have never lived anything like this before.
Clara Rísquez
Aquest entrenament ha suposat una gran revelació per a la meva veu. He après a el·liminar tota activitat mental (habitualment plena de judicis i soroll al voltant del que faig) i cantar posant l'atenció en les lletres de forma natural. Llavors, podia experimentar com el meu cos s'alliberava de tensions i com podia connectar més profundament amb el significat d'allò que cantava. Llavors, podia expressar-me i accedir al significat de la música, sense esforç, deixant que passés, sense cap control. Ha estat molt agradable i addictiu!
Ona Pla
Singer and teacher, Barcelona
Pianist and Jazz Singer, London
I feel now like all’s about befriending that unknown and trusting that something will come. If I relax and allow the fear to be there, a sense of aliveness and playfulness joins me onstage. Putting myself out there and deciding not to know what will come — I love that.
It’s been amazing to learn this possibility of befriending difficult emotions in the context of acting and moving towards them rather than trying to avoid them — dancing with them, allowing them to transform into a more available, freer flow of energy. And feeling how that takes my work to a completely different level.
Christel Wecker
Musician, New South Wales, Australia
Persia Wildwood
Actress and theatre director, New South Wales, Australia